Hell

In the past 20+ years I have encountered an incredible number of positions on the matter of Hell. The Jehova´s Witness deny it´s existence even though it is found in the text of their misinterpretation, known as the New World Translation, makes a great deal of mention about it. The Universalists deny it´s eternal nature because it is their position, as explained to me, that everyone goes to Heaven… we just use different routes to get there. Then there are a group of New Testament Christians (oxymoron) that teach that God is love (this is true) and a loving God will never send anyone to eternal suffering in Hell. There are a whole catalog of other positions, none of them based on the Bible, so let´s look at scripture for a moment.
Luk 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Luk 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
Luk 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
Luk 16:18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Luk 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
In verse fifteen we find Jesus making a remarkable and very note worthy statement that, when meditated on, has some very serious and note worthy points to consider. The Pharisees are the people being addressed in these remarks, so Jesus is speaking to and of the very religious Church Leaders of that day. Just like the most noticeable Christians of today these men are content with their position and seem to have grown some rather long pointed noses to look down as they examine folks of less stature. In verse fifteen Jesus delivers a blow, right to the mid-section.
These rulers had taken on the air of self righteousness as do a, far to, large portion of the Church Families today. Much to often, in today´s church, the average member has never read his or her Bible through the first time but instead have latched on to this or to that verse and use that, single, verse for their Justification. The Christian Adulterer (oxymoron) often will devote a good deal of effort to condemning the Homosexual, the Rapist, the Thief or some other class of sinner to make him or herself feel good about their ¨lessor¨ sin!
Now, there is a great deal more to be learned from this passage of scripture but for the moment, at least, let´s move into what some call a Parable and others, like myself, view as a literal story told to us by Jesus. It matters not, one´s position on this story being literal or parable, there is a lesson to be learned and in this story, several lessons.
Hell is a touchy subject and one that receives far to little attention in today´s, much more, liberal assemblies. The first thing I seek to do when I hear Hell mentioned is to figure out the speaking individual´s definition of Hell. Most of the Christian Church will admit that it exists but will not teach on it because it is divisive and does not seem to build numbers in the attendance column.
My understanding of Hell is from the scriptures and more often than not I am told that I´m all wet. My view on the passage above has a very large bearing on my definition of Hell. We find here that Lazarus has gone to Abraham´s Bosom, also known as Paradise from the account of the Thief on the cross, and the Rich Man we see in Hell. We know that Paradise has been emptied out (Matt. 27:52, 53) and we know that the people in Hell are there until the Second Resurrection, coming after the Millennial Reign of the Christ. (Rev. 20:1-14)
What I hope all can see here is that Hell will end up in the Lake of Fire, a.k.a. The Abyss, but Hell is not there now. For this reason, when I speak of Hell, I am not speaking of the final destination of the unforgiven. Actually, this, for the sake of P.R. and unity in the Church, where it is important, is for every Christian to agree on. The childish, sporadic debates that take place in public discussions and public forums does great damage to the Witness of today´s Christian. When we attack one another, because we do not understand the other´s position we look very foolish and under educated.
One more of the parallels I´m famous for. When I landed in the 229th ASH Bn. Before I could get my feet on the ground there was a nineteen year old WO I trying to get me to commit to flying with him and noone else. Before I landed he had already checked me out, records and reputation. (The men in the U.S. Army´s Aviation wing are very tight knit.) This one of the kids that knew better than to trust anybody over thirty, I´m already twenty-four but he saw that I was to be the Senior Huey Crewchief and he wanted only the best.
He questioned me for over twenty minutes about the aircraft to find out if I was for real and all of my answers were spot on. If we, the Christians, do not appear to know what it is we speak of, would you want to follow us?

the Holy Life

Posted on June 21, 2011 by th1bill Jer 7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
Jer 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
Jer 7:5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
Jer 7:6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
Jer 7:7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
Jer 7:8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
In last Sunday´s Scripture Lesson the question was asked that is, by and large, ignored in this world today, ¨How much of your daily lifestyle is shaped by popular culture and how much is influenced by God´s Word?¨
The Grumpy Old Men´s Class did run 7 to 10 when I assumed the privilege of teaching it, for the want of a willing teacher. Because of my teaching the possibility of living a ¨Holy Life,¨ (a life devoted to the service of God. Rom. 12:1) combined with problems that occur in any Church Family with a very Biblical Pastor, two members left the class and the fellowship of the Church. Others have left for an assortment of reasons until the class is now made up of 3 to 5 members on any given Sunday. And here we are now striving to build the LORD´s Church Family with, hopefully, dedicated Christ Followers.
In verse 3 we see Jeremiah delivering a message to God´s people that, through-out the past six thousand years, has never changed, ¨Amend your ways.¨ From the time God called Abraham away from his family in Genesis, the LORD has looked for a separate, a different people. God created Adam a perfect man with a free will and Adam chose to follow his good looking woman, Eve, and to disobey God From that moment forward the ¨world¨ has been trouble and God has been calling people, all people, to return to Him. (2Pet. 3:9)
Jesus reduced the Ten Commandments down to two Great Commandments, which if followed, will see a man or a woman obeying all 613 explanations. Yet, in spite of Jesus’ statement in the Gospels that He had not come to do away with the Law and that not one title would ever pass away, the New Testament Christian, an oxymoron, has, indeed cast the Law into the Dung Heap! And yet if we go no further than the Book of Romans we find Paul, in the KJV mentioning the Law 78 times in 52 verses.
Now, up front, we are not under the penalty of the Law, we, Christians, are under Grace but the Law is very important to us for many reasons, two of them I´ll mention here. First, the Law is the perfect Word Picture, or Illustration of Jesus who is God in the flesh of a man. And second, the Law is our Code Of Conduct! This is the example we are to seek to model to the Lost Man.
Over the years I have been permanently banned from a number of web sites, claiming to be Christian, because my teaching of the importance of the Law to the Christian has offended folks. God has not put His call on any man´s life to tickle the ears of the masses. If you look at teachers like Joel Osteen and Rick Warren you will see that tickling ears builds monster followings but who are they following? If a man, any man, follows God and obeys God to receive his messages, only, from God, he will offend people. God´s ways are not preferred by most of the world, that is why The Christian Faith is such a small following.
So, can a man live a Holy life? Not without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! When Jesus departed the Disciples, He promised the Comforter would be sent, by Him, to us. That is the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is there with any Saved Man. The difference between a God fearing Christian and a carnal Christian is the quenching of the Holy Spirit. The God fearing Christian makes the effort to listen to the Spirit he or she is indwelt by and everybody else quenches that same Spirit whether saved and indwelt or unsaved and the Spirit knocking at their heart´s door. With the indwelling of the Spirit of God and the personal commitment to follow the leading of the Spirit, any person can lead a life dedicated to God, a Holy life.
Like myself, you will have times that you stiffen your neck and disobey but, again, like myself, you will fall down, repent and be forgiven and reinstated if you love God.

Where Do You Stand?

Phil. 4:19 And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (ASV)

When I became a Christian in 1990, I was riding a bicycle with slick tires ten miles to and from work in the rainy winter of that year, I had not a dime to tithe. But I did, not understanding the tithe I took ten per cent of what was in my pockets and I gave it. I came to understand the tithe better as I studied and today I do not even keep track of all I give and much is given anomalously so that there is no record.

Before that first month was over I was driving myself to and from work and all my bills were being paid in spite of my tithing what I did not have the ability to tithe. Can you out give God? Absolutely not!

According to the News, I am about to be devastated by the possible collapse of my countries government and yet, I cannot find it in myself to be concerned. I am 100% disabled and my wife was forced into retirement so that every dime we have to live on comes from the government… but I know better than that! Everything, not just my money, comes form my God! My God is the one that created everything we see and feel by speaking it into existence, there is no-one as rich as He is and without Him I have nothing but with Him I can stand firmly on my life verse, Psa. 23:1 The LORD is my Shepard and ¨I shall not want.¨

Christianity is a very proactive faith and without that faith, you are lost!

Inventory of One´s Self

John3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. 18 He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.””
Heb.10:24 Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching. 26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries. (WEB)
These two quotes from scripture can feel odd together but in reality, it is always important to remember that the Bible has one author and about forty scribes that recorded the words of God. With that knowledge in hand it is reasonable and understandable to say that no portion of scripture can be understood without the light of all scripture shinning on it.
My point? There are hundreds of millions that believe they are saved for a multitude of reasons when there is only one reason anyone is ever saved and that has nothing to do with ourselves. Although there are many that argue against the truth, that does not make it untrue and the truth is that Jesus, the man without sin, died for our sins.
Oh, great… everyone is going to Heaven! No! Jesus, God in the flesh of a man, taught that many are called but few are saved. (Matt. 7:13 – 15) In fact there are now and there have always been many False Prophets. If a man or a woman does not read the scriptures, on a regular basis, they will never come to understand that the Word of God, the Bible, is living and vibrant. Every time I read the scriptures, from Genesis through the Revelation, I have new mysteries revealed to me by the Holy Spirit.
Now, there I go upsetting folks. A Proff. at a Seminary who was also a Pastor told me not to hand him that Holy Ghost c__p! And as I have made this journey for the past 21 years, I have encountered a large number of people that have no idea of what or who the Holy Gost/Holy Spirit is, in Church and out of Church. That is a distressing point and needs to be examined. The scriptures teach us that when Jesus ascended to be with the Father that His Disciples were overcome/indwelt with the Spirit of God and in the Book of the Acts we see people that are saved are also indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Based on this teaching of the Bible, I do not feel out of line judging folks, as per Matt. 7, and asking them to do a Spiritual Inventory of themselves.
Some of them will find that they were indwelt with the Holy Spirit, the moment they were saved, and have been disobedient by quenching the Spirit. (1Thes. 5:19) These are Carnal Christians but the bulk of all people will find that they are not saved and need to take care of the business. Have You?

I owe Keith and a couple of others an apology because I began this BLOG and then gave up on it.  i have read all of the comments and thank you, everyone.  I have been under the weather for a long time now but I am back and I will be paying more attention to this format and my Facebook page.

The jewel of my, my wife's and my daughter's life bloomed yesterday as we saw her give the flower of her virginity to her husband (I pray) and they are gone to Cabo San Lucas for their honeymoon this morning.

I have become much more bed ridden but that just means I have more time to work where God wants me to.

God bless everyone.

The inevitable question hangs tough today, demanding an answer. Millions want to know, “If God is (real), how could He allow such evil? Yesterday, twenty innocent (in the eye of God) little people entered Heaven, never to feel pain again and we, like Job, are left to work this over, trying to wrap our heads around this evil. In the first book of the Bible, we find Gen. 1:26 and we see that God made man in His Image. God is a Spirit being and in no manor human at the point of Creation and that is important to remember here. And in the Bible, we learn that God created all that has been created for “His” pleasure... God has free will and because we are created in the image of God, we have free will. In the first chapters of Genesis we see that free will has good and evil options to work with ad sometimes from. We find early on that God, the Creator, walked with Adam in the cool of the evening. Adam and God both longed for fellowship and both chose to enjoy the other. And in the second chapter, we see God finds that Adam is without a help mate and God removes one of Adam's ribs and creates the most beautiful, perfect vision of a woman and rings her to Adam to wed. God's free will is always perfect and His actions are always time just right. Adam was alone just long enough to know that he was incomplete, just long enough to develop the need for his mate. If God had created Eve at the same time He did Adam it is quite possible that Adam might never have realized his deep need need of the fellowship she brought to his life. If Adam had never had the opportunity to realize his need for companionship, he and we might never have had the opportunity to realize that his need was a picture of the free will love God feels for us. (The first three chapters of Genesis cannot be exhaustively taught from the pulpit in a year, maybe two.) The other side of free will is evil! But, you see, without the ability to exercise free will, there can be no love and love is the good every one of us needs. Love is not the product Hollywood pushes onto our children when we fail to live the truth in front of them. What Hollywood is selling is a soft side of evil. No! I did not just call the coupling of a man and his wife evil. However, what is ignored in the church today, the back seat activities of teens and the married but not to each other activities, promoted by Hollywood and Broadway is evil... soft, wanted but evil! And I assure you that you need to study the Book of Job until you can see the love of God that I see there. As bad as it appears, God knew Job's breaking point and He never allowed Satan to push Job that hard. When Job's trial was over and he had learned how strong his faith was, he ws completely restored and he was blessed wit hthe knowledge he would never have gained. The moms and dads are mentally collapsed today and the journey back is very, very hard to travel. When my very best friend took an eighty-one mm in the chest, I was the first to find him and I remember nothing of the following three months other than what I was told I did. The parents of these missing babies do not have an ever present enemy and they are not supplied with a never ending supply of munitions, praise God. They need our tears and our prayers and no, they will not be healed in ninety days and they will not be healed in twenty years. These fellow parents, grandparents, classmates, brothers and sisters are hurt and incomplete until the day they, I pray, go home to Heaven. Please, cease not to pray.

Where in the world to begin? Today the people of Newtown had a visit from Evil. I have a firend with the screen name, Major. Major and I knew Evil and lived with him for a long time. I suspect that, like myself, Major has had his heart ripped out of his chest, once more. Evil murdered 20 children, at least some of them and possibly all of them, Kindergärtners. And to add to the carnage, he murdered 6 adults. I have a number of dreams that refuse to leave me alone and have often awakened my wife with screams for her to get in the damned hole before they kill her. For three tours I lived, ate, drank and slept with Evil and I now live to warn people that they never want to know what I and Major know. You see, as close as we lived to evil for as long as we did, we do not know the horror of the Evil these babes now hold in their precious hearts and it brings tears to my eyes to know it. It is a sad thing but as they gather all the knowledge and as they do all the interviews and as they publish it for us to know, you must understand, neither they, the officials and reporters, nor any of us will ever know the permanent damage done to these babies. Some of the victims will not even become aware of the damage done to them for Decades yet, themselves. My doctors accuse me of being hyper-vigilant because I need to know who is behind me and what they are doing. Some of the Little People will now have this same need and they are to darned young to know the Face of Death and his brother, Evil, these are Small Americans! My call is to prayer. (2Chro. 7:14) I'm not crazy, these evil deeds were never known in this land before I became a man and joined the military. I spent seven years, ten months in the service to my country and when I returned home, it was common to have weekend Sex Parties with fifty people or more attending... pure evil! Our nation and these babies need the prayers of God's people. If you are not indwelt with the Holy Spirit, I, neither, expect you to understand this need nor should you fall on your face and pray, God will not listen to you! On the other hand, there is a small group that, like myself, live with the guiding hand of the Spirit of God, and now is the time for us to pray for the hand of God to be on these babes, their parents, the teachers, the police and our nation, please pray without ceasing.